Saturday, November 25, 2017

Take note: False news report from WPBF/ABC25 about this incident of rabies. Learn below where this incident of rabies actually occurred. The news report by Whitney Burbank titled, “Lake Worth dog tests positive for rabies” gives the wrong location. This incident of rabies DID NOT happen “in Lake Worth”:“Walesky [Animal Care and Control spokesman Capt. Dave Walesky] said [pit bull dog] Luigi’s owners recorded the two-year-old pitbull [sic] after they discovered him, unable to move, outside the home on Eddy Court in Lake Worth [sic] last week. They rushed to [sic] Luigi the veterinarian, but it was too late. According to Walesky, tests revealed the dog had rabies -- Palm Beach County’s only recorded case in nearly five years.” A news report by Tania Rogers at NBC5/WPTV gives the accurate location of this incident: “Fliers warn of rabies in suburban Lake Worth”.

The original blog post about this rare butvery dangerous viral disease follows:

Below are excerpts from the front page news in today’s Lake Worth Herald with contact information and advice from the Florida Dept. of Health and Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control.

Animals exhibiting
signs of sickness and aggressive
behavior should
be reported to Animal
Controlat 561-233-1200 immediately.

“Rabies is a disease of the nervous system and is fatalto warm blooded animals and humans.” Learnmore about rabies below.

This rabies-positive area is west of Edgecliff Ave. in unincorporated PBC, south of Greenacres andwest of Atlantis (between Jog and Haverhill roads,north of Lantana Rd.).

Important information from The Lake Worth Herald:

Florida Department
of Health in Palm Beach
County along with Animal
Care and Control have
confirmed that a pit bull
taken to a veterinarian
for wound treatment last
Thursday was positive for
rabies. At least two persons
were exposed to the sick
animal and the Department
of Health is looking
for others that may have
been exposed. Department of Health
Epidemiologists received
confirmation from the
Florida State Lab and
immediately reached out
to the veterinarian, dog
owner, and other potential
contacts. The Department
is also asking anyone from
the community, west of
Edgecliffe Ave and North
of Lantana Road that may
have had contact with this
or any other stray or wild
animal since October 22
to notify the department
at 561-671-4184.

and. . .

The only treatment for
human exposure to rabies
is rabies-specific immune
globulin and rabies immunization.
Appropriate
treatment started soon
after the exposure will
protect an exposed person
from the disease.
The following advice is
issued:

Keep rabies vaccinations
up to date for all pets.

Keep your pets under
direct supervision so they do not come in contact with
wild animals.

If your pet is bitten by
a wild animal, seek veterinary
assistance for the
animal immediately and
contact Animal Care &
Control at 561-233-1200.

Call your local animal
control agency to remove
any stray animals from
your neighborhood.

Spay or neuter your
pets to help reduce the
number of unwanted pets
that may not be properly
cared for or regularly vaccinated.

Do not handle, feed,
or unintentionally attract
wild animals with open
garbage cans or litter.

Never adopt wild animals
or bring them into
your home.

Teach children never
to handle unfamiliar animals,
wild or domestic,
even if they appear friendly.

Prevent bats from
entering living quarters or
occupied spaces in homes,
churches, schools, and
other similar areas where
they might come in contact
with people and pets.

For example, this text was recently added:

During a short period of neglect and decline in the 1980s and 1990s,
Lake Worth, in the words of then-city commissioner Dennis Dorsey, “had
become known as the skin-flick capital of the country.” The venue now
the Lake Worth Playhouse was the Playtoy, and was well known in Palm
Beach County as the theater that showed x-rated movies; Deep Throat was
shown there, motivating a police raid.

Welcome back, Dennis.

And how can one say that two decades, “the 1980s and 1990s”, was only just a “short period of neglect and decline”? Two decades! That’s not exactly a “short period” of time. It’s closer to being an era; one era in particular of our City’s long history a lot of people would rather forget. It was during those years when a lot of people, the ones who could afford to, abandoned our City and moved out west.

But once again, it’s important to remember the Lake Worth Wikipedia page is a, or one, source for information — but it’s not all entirely true or even factual in many cases — the lesson is: do you own research using multiple sources.

So stay tuned as they say. Maybe another PAC will be formed some time soon by Mr. Dorsey, a long-time resident in the Great Walled City of Atlantis.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Check back later on this week to find out more about what happened in the City of Lake Worth in December 2015. Now almost exactly two years later, in 2017, consider this:

Murals are once again big news here in our City of Lake.

Like in 2015, we’re just about 3½ months away from City elections, this time the March 2018 elections.

And the beat reporter whose ‘news’ back in 2015 about ‘one Lake Worth woman seeing red’ was accompanied by this gem of a headline: “Lake Worth resident: Boy’s face on mural too white for neighborhood”.

Two years later, will some look at this as another opportunity to create and stir up trouble here in our City of Lake Worth, “the politicizing of art” for political advantage?

The iconic mural which still exists on 6th Ave. South that was ‘news’ in the Post back in 2015 which “shows the face of a blue-eyed white boy looking to the heavens’ was, according to the artist Eduardo Mendieta, a Cuban-American boy.

Another quote from that 2015 ‘news’:

“It would’ve really been symbolic and wonderful if it had been a child
of color because that’s who predominantly lives there,” said the ‘one Lake Worth woman seeing red’.

Question: Does this Lake Worth mural give you some sort of weird vibe or have you “seeing red”:

Another quote from the ‘news’ in 2015:“It just sends a weird vibe.”

Since when is a ‘weird vibe’ news in The Palm Beach Post? Or do you get a ‘weird vibe’ that this was even published in the Post to begin with?

But first, on another timely topic, there will be a Joint Workshop between the Planning & Zoning Board and Historic Resource Preservation Board next Wednesday, Nov. 29th at 6:00 in City Hall to address changes to the City’s Land Development Regulations (LDRs). I’ve been told the backup material for board members hasn’t been supplied yet. There’s a lot of material for these volunteer board members to look over, so hopefully they’ll receive this backup material as soon as possible and have enough time to study it all.

Now back to last Monday’s meetingat Parrot Cove:

The guest speaker at the Parrot Cove Neighborhood Assoc. meeting last Monday night was Mr. Mark Stivers, the Asst. Dir. for Planning, Zoning, and Historic Preservation. I was unable to attend this meeting but received several reports from citizen/reporters that were in attendance.

It needs to be noted one of the reasons for this meeting is because of the City of Lake Worth’s ordinance, “Section 23.5-4 Historic Preservation”. This is a new ordinance to address public concerns about the administration of the Historic Preservation program and passed unanimously at first reading on November 7th; second reading is coming up on December 5th.

Although brought up at the Commission meeting on Nov. 7th that would suggest the public is more focused on fixing the Historic Preservation program, getting the City to do it’s responsibility: Make this program work for everyone and of course, “Customer Service” needs to be a high priority of City staff as well. A resident or business owner with property in a historic district thinking they can just fill out a form and check the “I want to opt out” box just confuses and muddles things even more, plus no one really knows for sure if there is a way to legally “opt out” of a historic district. That’s a matter for the legislature and the courts to decide.

Anyway. . .

A group of about 50 people came out on a Monday night, which says something in itself. This meeting at Parrot Cove lasted about an hour and Mr. Stivers began by introducing himself and his role with the City for about fifteen minutes. What followed was a “decent exchange of ideas” with the public, I was told, for the rest of the hour. The public is still clearly frustrated and impatient, wanting to get things moving in the right direction faster, but Stivers said, “That’s why we’re here today” and that he’s still finding out about how things used to operate and to make the changes necessary going forward. This is a bureaucracy remember and bureaucracies have never been known to act in a swift manner.

Stivers told the crowd he is forming his own vision for the future of the City’s Historic Preservation program and many of the public pointed out, as has been pointed out over and over again, the biggest issue is “consistency” and “decision-making” at the staff level.

A reminder, second reading of “Section 23.5-4 Historic Preservation” is coming up on Dec. 5th.

Following first reading at the City Commission on Nov. 7th, an excerpt below from this blog, something for the electeds to consider:

Related to the changes in the historic preservation ordinance, I couldn’t help but notice a few things. First and most glaring, Pamala Ryan, a senior associate lawyer for City Attorney Glen Torcivia gave the presentation for the City’s Community Sustainability Historic Preservation Dept. I can’t recall anything like this ever happening before. The staff at the Historic Preservation Dept. should have been out front in the lead taking the questions and “slings and arrows”, not an attorney. Someone on the dais should have at least questioned why this was the case last Tuesday [Nov. 7th].

So the message can be summed up this way, we have “Known Knowns” and some “Known Unknowns” and we’ll have to trust for now the Historic Preservation staff is going to do what they said they’re going to do, because if they don’t the public message will most certainly be,

“We want to opt out”.

As mentioned on this blog, the very surprising recent news from Charleston, S.C. needs to be kept in mind about a “huge shift in our mindset” with regards to historic preservation in Charleston. And Hurricane Irma’s track predicted early on up along the Florida east coast brought with it a renewed call to speed up a “shift in our mindset” as well how the Historic Preservation program is being administered here in the City of Lake Worth.

For example. . .

Marotta, who serves as president of the Parrot Cove Neighborhood
Association, lives in a 105-year-old home but because the home has been
designated “historic”, he has faced some roadblocks in installing storm
shutters. “Things that should
be very simple such as hardening ones homes against hurricanes, we’re
being hamstrung by decisions people made 100 years ago,” he said. [emphasis added]

and. . .

Marotta said people are spending thousands of dollars on costly upgrade
requirements, permits and push back from the board on what you can and
can’t do.
“There are people in favor of the historic program but they just want
it balanced better to where the costs are so high and the challenges
aren’t as great,” he said.

Cpt. Todd Baer “declined to elaborate” with a beat reporter, Kevin Thompson, on November 10th. Why? Because exactly one week later, on Nov. 17th, we learned why from the Post’s Olivia Hitchcock, “PBSO says gang members arrested in killings linked to MS-13”.

To learn more about the huge breaking news last week and why “Cpt. Baer declined to comment for a very good reason” on Nov. 10th click on this link.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Also below is “Another look back to 2016–2017 election season. . .” which got quite a lot of attention on this blog recently. Of note is the Qualifying Period to get ones name on the ballot ends tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 12th at noon. Who is already in the three races for election day on March 13th, 2018? Use this link to find out from the City’s website.

Also cited in the post below, “Another look back. . .” were three candidates running in the 2016–2017 elections, William Joseph, Maryann Polizzi, and Ellie Whittey. In no way do I believe Joseph, Polizzi, or Whittey was not in the race to win. In fact, in the case of Mr. Joseph, wouldn’t be the least surprised to see him on the ballot again next year.

I’ve met and talked with Mr. Joseph and know for a fact Polizzi tried her very best to win. Of all the candidates Whittey was the most, well, let’s say interesting. But Whittey had the endorsement of the mayor and don’t think Mayor Pam Triolo would ever tolerate for long having a ‘shill’ in any Lake Worth election.

However, as evidenced in previous City of Lake Worth elections, there have indeed been shills.

A “shill”, also called others things that can’t be mentioned on this blog, is someone who qualifies to get on the ballot but has no intention of winning — but just to get a certain percentage of the vote — whatever that number is deemed necessary to stop someone else from getting “50% + 1”.

In some cities and towns in Palm Beach County, to win an election outright you only need to get the majority of the vote to win. So if five or six people are running for a seat on a commission or council the winner would only need 30–40% to win, or maybe even less. However, in most cities in PBC the winner needs 50% of the vote +1 which would then trigger an automatic recount (the winner needs a margin over ½ of 1% to avoid a recount).

That’s where the shill comes in.

The shill may be in the race to help someone get 50% + 1 or, in other cases, the shill’s job is to damage another candidate and force a run-off election between the two top vote-getters that would be held two weeks after the general election. If the candidate being targeted is politically damaged enough two weeks may not be enough time to recover and beat the second-place finisher.

Now it gets more complicated: What if people think there is a shill in the race but instead all of the candidates are truly in it to win it ? And now, the most complicated possibility of all that any serious candidate needs to plan for: the dangers and pitfalls of a runoff election!

This topic will be discussed and debated quite a lot leading up to the elections in March 2018 if one or maybe all three of the elections for mayor and commissioners in Districts 1 and 3 have three or more candidates. But remember this: the shill doesn’t always have to be the third person in the race.

You see, some people like to plan ahead here in the City of Lake Worth.

Without further ado. . .

Below is a blog post from yesterday, just in case you missed this, about City of Lake Worth elections and with the Qualifying Period less than a week away (Nov. 28th at noon). . .

“Another look back to 2016–2017 election season in the City of Lake Worth: The curious case of a District 4 candidate.”

Of course Mr. Herman Robinson, now Commissioner Robinson, won the District 4 race quite handily last March. And Mr. Omari Hardy was able to garner enough votes to avoid a run-off with former District 2 Commissioner Chris McVoy, PhD.

Well, guess what! We get to do it allover again on March 13th, 2018.

The big difference this time are those elected next March will begin serving three-year terms instead of a two-year term like it’s been for so many decades in this City. And if you haven’t heard by now the Qualifying Period to get ones name on the ballot begins on Tuesday, November 28th at noon and ends at noon on Tuesday, December 12th. Click on this link to learn more about the Qualifying Period.

On March 13th, 2018, will be the elections for mayor of Lake Worth and for City commissioner in Districts 1 and 3. If you do decide to get into the race here is just one of the things you need to prepare and practice for:

Now for the curious case of District 4 candidateEllie Whittey last March:

Ellie Whittey didn’t get mentioned a whole lot on this blog after qualifying and leading up to Election Day. Frankly, could never quite figure out why she was in the race to begin with. What Whittey had though was the endorsement of Mayor Pam Triolo and a message, or platform, that few really understood and maybe that’s why Whittey got less than 10% of the vote.

But. . . everywhere Whittey went she attracted a large crowd and much enthusiasm. However, on election day all that enthusiasm never translated into many votes.

In a curious twist, Mayor Triolo also endorsedWilliam Joseph as well:

The “Question” on the ballot last March was to increase term limits for City electeds from two years to three years. The referendum passed convincingly.

The District 4 race between Robinson, Polizzi, and Whittey was already an odd one to begin with — a rarity in Lake Worth — an “open seat” election due to then-Commissioner Ryan Maier exiting his re-election bid. Robinson ended up winning outright avoiding a run-off and Ellie Whittey came in a very distant third.

What may have ultimately sealed the fate of Whittey was a claim she made about the Lake Worth Casino complex at the Beach which was already a debacle to begin with. And to make matters worse she then doubled-down and made the same claim again in front of a packed City Commission meeting in January 2016 during public comment:

“I
can understand the hesitation of wanting to get involved with this company
[Morganti] legally. Morganti is not a United States owned company.
They're based out of Athens. So again, they don’t have to comply with
our rules. I would be hesitant. I don't believe people knew this going into this contract. Again, we learn from our mistakes. NEVER [Whittey raises voice] have a contract with a company which is not an American-owned company. Because again, what can we do when they mess up? They don’t have to comply with our laws as you know. Thank you.”

So was Morganti, the construction company that built the newer Casino in 2012, replacing the previous structure at the Beach, going to skip town and screw over Lake Worth? Maybe go back to Athens and give our City the shaft? No. Not at all. Whittey said, “They don’t have to comply with our laws.”

ABSOLUTELY FALSE.

The public, the City of Lake Worth electeds and staff that were working so hard to fix all this mess, as well as Morganti, all deserved an apology but they never got one. Unfortunately, mis- and disinformation leading up to elections is all-too-common in this City. Like the rumors spread on social media days prior to Election Day that Mr. Omari Hardy wasn’t a resident of this City and therefore wasn’t “qualified” to be on the ballot. Total nonsense.

In the end I think all this was a hopeful sign. The voters seemed to be paying very close attention to what’s going on in this City, and instead of acting viscerally, were making their choices wisely.

The message is this: Pay close attention to what is going on and attend as many debates and neighborhood meetings with candidates the NAPC will be hosting following the conclusion of the Qualifying Period on December 12th. And make sure to do your homework too when an incumbent or challenger makes a claim about this or that, like this mailer from the 2016 election season:

Likely the silliest political mailer in the

history of Lake Worth politics.

This mailer by the Frank McAlonan campaign targeting Commissioner Andy Amoroso ended up generating more jokes than votes. It was called the “Five million dollar mystery”.

“From where I sit. . .”

“74 PBC schools earn 5 star award . . . the award for incorporating family and community members into the school environment. . . . Sadly, only one school in Lake Worth made the list. . . . Why the lack of involvement? . . . Lake Worth can and should do better.”

Which school was the only one in our City to make the list, qualifying for the “Five Star School Award”? North Grade Elementary School came in at #45. “A 5 Star School for 18 years!”

The City’s only charter school, Academy for Positive Learning, did not make the cut. For a short list of other schools on the list see below.

The City of Lake Worth’s Education Council (EC) was quite popular with the community. Students, children, and their families were invited to City Hall and council members visited and toured our local public schools as well (just a few of the activities). Now with the resurgence of interest in our local public schools — and the efforts to boost school attendance a big priority now — this would be the time for a City board to tackle these crucial issues.

Enjoy this video.

A few other schools that qualified for the “Five Star School Award”:

Bak Middle School of the Arts, #1.

Belle Glade Elementary School, #3.

Equestrian Trails Elementary School, #23.

Forest Hill Elementary School, #25.

Jupiter Elementary School, #35.

Palm Springs Community Middle School, #51.

South Olive Elementary School, #61.

Wellington Elementary School, #69.

Wellington Community High School, #70.

Wellington Landings Middle School, #71.

Wynnebrook Elementary School, #74, in last place.

*Pelecanidae from the genus Pelecanus. “Pelican Pete” is a sometimes biting bird with a clever wit. You’ll find this birds weekly musings, or droppings if you prefer, on the front page every week in The Lake Worth Herald. To pick up the print edition of the Herald today, go to the City’s newsstand located at 600 Lake Ave. in Downtown Lake Worth. To contact the editor use this link or call 561-585-9387.

Cpt. Baer declined to comment for avery good reason.

You’ll learn more about that below from a Nov. 17th breaking news report by Palm Beach Post staff writer Olivia Hitchcock. It was another reporter from the Post, the current beat reporter here in the City of Lake Worth, Kevin Thompson, who asked Lake Worth’s PBSO commander a question and Cpt. Baer, “declined to elaborate” on Nov. 10th. Why?

Because exactly a week later we found outwhy from Olivia Hitchcock.

You see, the men and women at PBSO were very busy at the time. But more about that later.

By the way, it was the same beat reporter here now in the City of Lake Worth who was sent to cover PBSO’s merge with the Greenacres PD two years ago and everyone is still waiting for an update, you know, to ‘elaborate’ on the situation in the fine neighboring City of Greenacres.

There’s never been a follow-up article on how things are going in Greenacres following the merge with PBSO. Wouldn’t you like to know? Interestingly, Greenacres also had issues with code enforcement as well two years ago, and we haven’t heard anything about that issue either. From the very same beat reporter who covered the merge with PBSO in 2015 came this news as well published in the Post:

“Rivera [former Greenacres District 1 Councilwoman Lisa Rivera] is also concerned that many of the businesses in her district, which runs from the L-10 Canal south to the L-15 Canal, and from Military Trail west to South 57th Avenue, look like they should be in a flea market, with their garish colors and tacky banner signs.‘It looks horrid,’ Rivera said.” [emphasis added]

Anyhow. From Friday, Nov. 10th is this from Thompson and below — exactly a week later — was the huge, breaking news from reporter Olivia Hitchcock everyone was glued to last week:

Michael Ghrayeb, owner of All Import Car Repair on South H Street, said there are pockets of issues in the city. “The
sheriff’s department only cares if you’re on 6th Avenue North,” he
said. “Anything south is less cared for. You see a lot of people walking
the streets at night, lots of hookers. It’s like the south doesn’t
exist.”Todd Baer, sheriff’s office captain, said that is Ghrayeb’s opinion.He declined to elaborate.

Here is why PBSO Cpt. Baer “declinedto elaborate”:

In the last two weeks Palm Beach County sheriff’s authorities, with
assistance from federal law-enforcement agencies, have linked a string
of killings, shootings and robberies in Lake Worth to MS-13, an
international criminal gang based in El Salvador. By Friday morning, six
of the suspects were behind bars facing charges in at least one of the
city’s two killings, which happened Oct. 30 and Nov. 5 in one-half-mile
radius south of downtown.

Near the end of the article by Thompsonon Nov. 10th is this as well:

Frost [Craig Frost, owner of Art of Noise on South ‘H’ St.] said he hears and sees the sheriff’s office’s chopper weekly. “It’s kind of a running joke now,” he said. “People are saying, ‘It’s Lake Worth’s bird in the sky.’ We hear about it all the time, we see it on Facebook.” To protect his business, Frost said he has an alarm and cameras in the front. He said he also depends on fellow business owners. “We’re a tight-nit community and have been for a long time,” he [Frost] said.

So. Here is that information to share witheveryone in your neighborhood:

Volunteering for PBSO, “Walk The Walk” organized by the NAPC, and contacting Crime Stoppers has been proven to be effective. However, other crime-stopping efforts such as SEO and OITNB have been proven to be ineffective in cutting down on the crime rate here in the City of Lake Worth.

PBSO District 14 is located at 120 North ‘G’ St.in Lake Worth. Main phone number is 561-586-1611or contact by email: LakeWorth@pbso.org

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Check back later on today or tomorrow morning for an update about what happened at Lake Worth’s Parrot Cove neighborhood meeting last night (11/20). I showed up at 8:00 and the meeting was already over and people were heading home, which was a big surprise at the time, was expecting the meeting to go on much later. It began at 7:00.

You’ll be glad to hear that Mr. Mark Stivers, the Asst. Dir. for Planning, Zoning, and Historic Preservation was well-received. There was some “airing of grievances” from the public but not much. The public mood seems to be — from reports I’ve received — optimistic about the future of the Historic Preservation program in our City of Lake Worth.

If you’re interested in reading the notice sent out about this meeting last night at Parrot Cove click on this link.

And find out later on why Dec. 5th at the Lake Worth City Commission will be a very big deal as well.

And of course, a big “Thank You” to The Beach Club restaurant and all the folks in Parrot Cove for kindly hosting this important and timely public meeting.

“CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS”

“Because
of an editing error, a story and accompanying photo caption in
Monday’s Palm Beach Post incorrectly identified an aircraft that
carried President Donald Trump’s helicopter to Palm Beach
International Airport. The jet is a C-17 [Globemaster]. The story
appeared on the front page.”

The jet in yesterday’s caption was called, falsely, a “C-5M Super Galaxy”.

Maybe it was an aviation expert who notified the editor(s) about this error
or possibly Post reporters Mahima Singh or Christine Stapleton noticed the
error in yesterday’s (11/20) front page caption
accompanying a photo along with the article by Singh and Stapleton titled,

“Trump in Palm Beach: President’s helicopter arrives. Will he use
it?”

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. It was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas.

and. . .

A C-17 accompanies the President of the United States on his visits to both domestic and foreign arrangements, consultations, and meetings. The C-17 is used to transport the Presidential Limousine and security detachments. There have been several occasions when a C-17 has been used to transport the President himself, temporarily gaining the Air Force One call sign while doing so.

By the way. . .

If you have thoughts about President Donal Trump’s latest visit to the Town of Palm Beach, or have thoughts about the Post’s news reporting on this topic, take 5–10 minutes today or this week and write a Letter to the Editor (LTE). It’s a very timely issue.

A lot of people here in the City of Lake Worth were very disappointed to not have a LTE published expressing how fortunate we were that our City’s Electric Utility was so well-prepared for Hurricane Irma. But that’s the way it goes sometimes.

To learn how to write a LTE click on this link, then scroll down for, “Instructions: How to get your LTE published in the Post.”

As per the public notice in the Lake Worth Herald (see below) the Qualifying Period ENDS TODAY at noon to get your name on the ballot in Lake Clarke Shores.

And the inexplicable continues to happen. Below is a blog post from November 16th.

Can anyone explain why this blog post is getting so much attention?

Could it be the public is rediscovering a hidden city without walls here in Central Palm Beach County? Have you ever heard of the wonderful and charming Town of Lake Clarke Shores tucked between the cities of Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, the Village of Palm Springs, and vast unexplored areas to the north in CPBC?

Can you find Lake Clarke Shores on this map?

The paragraph above is just a wee bit of satire. But how does one explain this: Why is the blog post below attracting so much traffic.

It’s literally off the charts!

By the way, did you know there are “bad people” in Lake Clarke Shores who have their eyes on looting a neighborhood here in the City of Lake Worth? A handful of Lake Worth residents who live along the C-51 Canal fear “marauding bands of looters” from Lake Clarke Shores when construction of the Blueway Trail project begins in 3–5 years.

Anyhow. Hope you enjoy this blog post from last week which starts off with a bit of news about our City of Lake Worth:

Lots of interesting news, public notices, community events, and so much more in the Herald this week including a must read article by Helen Vogt Greene titled “A Garden for Everyone” about the Lake Worth General Federation of Women’s Clubs, the Grey Mockingbird Garden, and all the work done by Mr. Brian Kirsch since 2012 at our City’s urban community garden at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center.

The Town of Lake Clarke Shores, 1701 Barbados Road, Lake Clarke Shores,
Florida, 33406, will hold a General Election on March 13, 2018 for the
purpose of electing Council Members from Groups 3, 4 & 5 for a term of
two (2) years. The polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. If a Runoff
Election is necessary, it will be held on March 27, 2018, utilizing the same
times and precinct identified below. Candidates for Council Member must
reside in the Town of Lake Clarke Shores. Candidate qualifying is from
NOON November 21, 2017 to NOON December 5, 2017. Voter registration
book closing is February 12, 2018 for the General Election. No person will
be permitted to vote unless he or she is registered in Palm Beach County and
residing in the Town of Lake Clarke Shores, Precinct #3014 & #2127.Mary Pinkerman, CMCTown Clerk

*The Lake Worth Herald Press is located at 1313 Central Terrace in the City of Lake Worth. If you would like a community event noticed, have news, learn more about advertising or subscription rates contact the editor call 561-585-9387 or send an email to: editor@lwherald.com

Monday, November 20, 2017

And guess what, it’s good news and there’s nary a mention about any “rotten behavior” back in 2006!

Learn more about Mr. Mark Foley in a blog post(see below) from last week which asks a provocativeand challenging question, “Which counts more. . .”

In today’s print edition of the Post on page B3, below the fold, is a really terrible photograph of former commissioner Foley, but at 63 years old you can see he’s in very good shape, still the handsome man you remember, and would make a fine addition to our Lake Worth City Commission once again. Maybe in the March 2019 elections?

Interestingly, Mr. Jeff Clemens may also be available to serve our City once again as well.

And also of note in today’s anticipated weekly (every single Monday) Lake Worth Very Very Special Monday Cursory Print Edition (LWVVSMCPE) there’s none of those silly phone numbers any more! Really now. Did it serve the public good to have the phone numbers for the Parks Dept. and Sewer Dept. published each and every week in the Post for an entire year!

“Gee Wiz, Mable, it’s only Wednesday. I can’t wait for the paper next Monday. I need the number for the Sewer Dept. right away!”

Anyhow. . .

Maybe in next week’s LWVVSMCPE we’ll learn some good news about Jeff Clemens too? Hope you enjoy the blog post below which asks a “challenging” question, learn more about Clemens’ political career and more about Mark Foley too. Then try to answer this question for yourself:

Which counts more: “rotten behavior” or admirable politics?

“So which counts more: rotten behavioror admirable art?”

Can’t the same be said about politicians — that they can be remembered as admirable as well — despite some well-publicized “rotten behavior”? What about a former City of Lake Worth mayor, State House representative, and later a member of the Florida Senate?

Of then-Mayor Marc Drautz, ahead of a run-off election in 2007, Clemens said, “Usually an incumbent spends his time talking about the positive things
he has accomplished, but in the absence of accomplishments the only
recourse is touse negative attacks.”

What happened with the Park of Commerce in the City of Lake Worth is still fresh in everyone’s minds and a lot of people probably had a touch of schadenfreude when they learned about Clemens’ recent “rotten behavior” and subsequent resignation from the Florida Senate.

But how many people remember whathappened in 2007?

Back in 2007 when crime was at its worst here in the City of Lake Worth reporter Patrick Parrish at The Lake Worth Herald wrote, “According to [City of Lake Worth] Mayor Jeff Clemens, the city is at least 10 officers short of the same time in 1997, a significant number when translated into street presence.” Another former commissioner, JoAnn Golden, quoted in the same 2007 article said, “I can understand [Commissioner Cara] Jennings’ concern on civil rights, but we have allowed gangs to get ahead of us.”

Then in August 2008 then-Mayor Clemens had to make one of the hardest political decisions ever in his political career, to disband the Lake Worth PD and have PBSO take over law enforcement in this City.

In retrospect, couldn’t that decision by Clemens be considered “admirable” or was his recent “rotten behavior” the only thing that matters any more?

Let’s take the case of another politician, formerLake Worth Commissioner Mark Foley:

Is every article about Mark Foley required to cite his “rotten behavior” in 2006? Or at some point can the public focus on other things like Foley’s key part in bringing Spring Training baseball back to Palm Beach County as reported by Post reporter Joe Capozzi last year?

Foley volunteered to serve on the City of Lake Worth’s C-51 Advisory Committee this year and our City later passed, by a unanimous vote, a “Resolution of Support” for the Blueway Trail Project. And how many in the public know about Mr. Foley’s role in bringing the “Military Memorial Monument” to Downtown Lake Worth which was just unveiled on Veterans Day?

Mark Foley was a Lake Worth commissioner from 1978–1979 and
1982–1984; served in the Florida House of Representatives from
1990–1992; Florida Senate, 1993–1994; then U.S. House, 1994–2006.

Mark Foley at his former restaurant called The Lettuce Patch at 502 Lucerne Ave. in 1976.

Both Foley and Clemens have paid a high price for their “rotten behavior” but they’ve both also made many “admirable” contributions to our City of Lake Worth and Palm Beach County as well.

Now back to the question posed by Clyde Haberman at The New York Times, “So which counts more”?

That’s a question everyone has to ask and answer for themselves. But in politics everything is fair game. But hasn’t Foley redeemed himself ten times over? And if you know Clemens do you have any doubt he’ll remain in politics and do the same thing? Remember folks, Clemens has never lost an election.

Who knows, maybe Clemens will reboot his political career by running for mayor of Lake Worth again. In City of Lake Worth politics anything is possible. Back in 2006 an Anarchist got elected in Lake Worth. And then re-elected!

Also below is more information about the vital role of a “Public Information Officer”, e.g., press releases issued, videos produced, publicly noticing meetings, and news conferences to keep the public and the press informed about what is happening in cities such as our City of Lake Worth. For example:

“I want to express my appreciation to the Finance Director [Marie Elianor] and her staff for receiving this recognition. This award is another indication that their professionalism and dedication to the City is keeping Lake Worth on track.”—City Manager Michael Bornstein.

The City of Lake Worth* received the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. This award represents a significant achievement by the City and reflects the commitment of staff and elected officials to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. This prestigious award tested the City’s budget against nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. . . . Due to the hard work of the City Finance Department the City was able to meet these requirements.

The press release above was issued by Mr. Ben Kerr, the City of Lake Worth’s PIO.†

The photograph below (taken by the talented Shawn D. Moss) is Mr. Kerr at the City’s Veterans Day Parade and the Ceremony of Honor on November 11th:

Would you like to contact Ben Kerr or request more information about our little City of Lake Worth? Call 561-586-1631 or by email: bkerr@lakeworth.org

Or if you’re a resident of this City:

Sometime this week contact Mr. Kerr and tell him how much you appreciate
the work he’s done for our City — but don’t go overboard — we don’t
want another city having thoughts about stealing our talent away like what happened in Delray Beach per Jeff Perlman, “We are losing talent to Lake Worth, Boynton Beach and other cities.” So this week
some time call or email Mr. Kerr and be very brief. Just say “Thank You
and carry on!”

*Located in Central Palm Beach County, Lake Worth is a dynamic, multi-cultural City with an individualistic style. People are drawn to the City by its acceptance of different cultures and lifestyles, historic districts, hip downtown and colorful arts district.
†PIO = Public Information Officer, and defined in Wikipedia as “[C]ommunications coordinators or spokespersons of certain governmental organizations . . . The primary responsibility of a PIO is to provide
information to the media and public” and, “During crises and emergencies [e.g., Hurricane Irma], PIOs are often identified by wearing helmets or vests
with the letters “PIO” on them.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, a YouTube video produced by PIO Kerr to keep the Palm Beach Post, TV news, and the public informed:

Do you remember what happened at a Parrot Cove meeting last year? The meeting was about historic preservation, historic districts, and many in the public were, well, let’s just say “mad as hell”. So what’s happened or not happened since June 2016?

Want to learn more about this very important issue? Have questions and concerns?

Today (Monday, Nov. 20th) at 7:00 is another meeting in the Parrot Cove neighborhood about the City’s Historic Preservation program. Learn more about this meeting below, the guest speaker is Mark Stivers, Assistant Dir. for Planning, Zoning, and Historic Preservation:

“Mark will be speaking to us about his new role with the City and how
it will affect our neighborhood. He will be soliciting feedback from our
members to hear about the strengths and weaknesses of the current
historic preservation program and the vision for our neighborhood and
the City of Lake Worth.”

Come out tomorrow and learn about all the changes that will be happening in the very near future.

Remember, it was following a series of neighborhood meetings in June 2016, like the one held at Parrot Cove, when City Hall got the message loud and clear: the historic preservation program is overbearing, too complicated, and arbitrarily enforced. Fix it!

This Parrot Cove meeting today is open to the public, from all neighborhoods in our City of Lake Worth, and all NAPC members* are strongly encouraged to attend.

The message from Anthony Marotta, the president of the Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association:

Parrot Cove Members,Our regular meeting will be on Monday, November 20th, 7:00 p.m. at our usual spot, The Beach Club restaurant [1 7th Ave. North] at the Lake Worth Golf Course. This month our speaker will be Mark Stivers, Assistant Director for Planning, Zoning, and Preservation who has recently joined the City of Lake Worth and will be working directly with the Historic Preservation program.. Mark is a former city manager and planning director and has been involved in historic preservation for many years. Mark will be speaking to us about his new role with the City and how it will affect our neighborhoods. He will be soliciting feedback from our members to hear about the strengths and weaknesses of the current historic preservation program and the vision for our neighborhoods and the City of Lake Worth. For all those who are concerned or interested in being part of the process to help this program evolve and work better for you and your homes, you are strongly encouraged to join this meeting to provide your input. As a reminder, our meetings are open to all who wish to attend so please invite your neighbors who may not be members to attend this important meeting.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

A reminder, December 5th at the Lake Worth City Commission is second reading of “Section 23.5-4 Historic Preservation”. To read the news segment about first reading on Nov. 7th, which includes a video by NBC5/WPTV reporter Andrew Lofholm, click on this link.To read the follow-up blog post about Moses (yes, that Moses), the Secretary of Interior Standards, and also about “opting out” of historic districts here in the City of Lake Worth click on this link for the post titled, “Historic preservation, historic districts, and an oft-told meme ‘opt out’ rears up again”.*

So. What happened in Charleston, South Carolina? Very big news; continue reading to find out:

The recent and very surprising news from Charleston is below, news that will certainly embolden many of you who have been complaining for many years about historic preservation here in our City of Lake Worth, the bureaucratic red tape, been involved in all the political firestorms, and demanding a ‘huge shift in OUR mindset’ as well.

Coincidentally, on the November 7th agendaat the Lake Worth City Commission under“New Business”:

How did we get here? A news segment by reporter Alanna Quillen at NBC5/WPTV datelined Sept. 29th sums it all up quite nicely; here are two excerpts:

LAKE WORTH, Fla. — We still have about five weeks left in hurricane season, five weeks left of fear for some homeowners that a storm may significantly damage or destroy their most important investment.

and. . .

[Anthony] Marotta, who serves as president of the Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association, lives in a 105-year-old home but because the home has been designated “historic”, he has faced some roadblocks in installing storm shutters. “Things that should be very simple such as hardening ones homes against hurricanes, we’re being hamstrung by decisions people made 100 years ago,” he said.

Lake Worth Commissioner Omari Hardyis quoted as well:

“If we have a solution, that helps make people’s lives better in Lake Worth, we should be allowed to do that,” he [Hardy] said. “Don’t handcuff us and tie our hands when we’re trying to help the people who elected us.”

Now for the extraordinary newsfrom another city. . .

In a move that one Charleston preservation leader called “a sea change,” the city will be more receptive than ever to property owners’ requests to elevate their homes or other buildings, even along its most historic streets. The city held a day-long workshop Friday to discuss design solutions that would allow historic buildings to be elevated while minimizing disruption to the city's ambiance, one that has given the city a national reputation and fueled its multimillion-dollar tourist economy. The workshop came several weeks after Tropical Storm Irma flooded dozens of historic homes downtown, many for the third time in as many years.

and. . .

The Historic Charleston Foundation sent out an alert to its supporters highlighting the dilemma now facing parts of downtown. “Traditionally, raising historic buildings is not a good preservation practice. It disrupts their architectural proportions, changes the character of the streetscape, and can lead to structural issues,” it said. “Sometimes, however, exceptions have to be made. Charleston is currently faced with two choices, neither of which is particularly appealing: raise many of our historic structures or watch them be destroyed by repeat flooding. We’re losing something either way.” [emphasis added]

Our City of Lake Worth was mostly spared the full wrath of Hurricane Irma but our luck is not going to last forever. Just like Charleston we face similar challenges with many of our historic structures — roofs, windows, and doors — and when we get a direct hit from a hurricane, and we will, “We’re losing something either way.”

Mayor Triolo asked, “You live in College Park. You don’t live in a historic district do you?”

Bornstein responded, “I intentionally did itthat way.”

*If this issue of historic preservation and the future of this program in our City of Lake Worth is important to you then please make plans to show up at the Commission meeting on December 5th and make your voice heard at public comment. If for some reason you cannot attend remember you can also watch from home Live Streaming: go to the City’s website, https://www.lakeworth.org/ and scroll down for the “Live Broadcast Channel”.